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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25723210">The Stars in the Night Sky</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whydoiwritethesestories/pseuds/Whydoiwritethesestories'>Whydoiwritethesestories</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:00:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,009</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25723210</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whydoiwritethesestories/pseuds/Whydoiwritethesestories</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What happened if Claude was too late to help save Byleth in the S-Rank Epilogue battle?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Stars in the Night Sky</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The rest world was hazy for Byleth as she lay on her back, staring up at the night sky. The stars helped give her a sense of serenity that she hadn’t felt in almost half a year. Their brilliant bright lights blinked back at her as she mapped out their patterns and sought out the stories that she’d burned into her memory in the past. And with the stars and their stories, it also brings the memory of him to the forefront of her mind. Ah, there it was. That familiar ache and loneliness that always accompanies viewing the stars.</p><p>Byleth was no stranger to loneliness throughout her life, but this was the first time she truly felt alone. The past two years had been so full of tasks and missions to accomplish that there was no time to see just how alone she’d always been. Her father had left this world some time ago, and yet the pain always felt as if it had been just yesterday. Her mother had traded her life for hers at the very beginning before she’d even had the chance to meet her. And all of her deer were grown and now had their own wonderful paths to walk down. </p><p>The golden deer.. how she loved each and every one of them. They were quite literally her pride and joy. She’d watched them grow so much in just the one year that she was their professor. She just wished that she had not had to abandon them for five years after the battle of Garreg Mach, but she could not help being so critically injured. Thinking about her deer only made the ache in her chest worsen, and once it had caught her attention it seemed to expand, covering her entire body and making it so hard to focus on anything else.</p><p>She had been pushing it away for so long, only for it to come crashing back, each time harder and more sudden than the last. The now fleeting memories of her star. He was so brilliant, with a light that could rival any other in the sky. Once upon a time, he had been her entire world, his presence had been the one thing that she could depend on. Until he vanished before her eyes as well. </p><p>Now, looking up at the stars again, Byleth just felt numb. None of them could ever hope to compare to him. What was the point of even looking at them anymore? All they brought was the pain of memories that never seemed to dull with time. And just when she thought the wave had crested and the worst of it was over, a single shout had cut through the silence around her.</p><p>Suddenly the stench of blood was thick and the sound of metal clashing together rang out through the air. Oh. Right. She had been fighting. She had been leading a battalion of inexperienced soldiers into battle, the only choice she had at such short notice. She’d gotten separated from then and subsequently surrounded by the enemy. It made sense, their true goal was her after all. The queen of the new United Kingdom of Fódlan.</p><p>She’d fought as hard as she could, but protecting the soldiers from earlier had taken more out of her than she’d originally planned for. All it had taken was one lucky strike with a poison blade to take her down. Perhaps that was why she felt numb then. It was pathetic really, the mighty Ashen Demon, the enlightened one, the Fell Star, the new queen, taken down by a single blade. </p><p>The world around her had stilled again as she pieced together what happened, and they resumed again with another shout. This time, she could make out her name, but not the voice it belonged to.</p><p>“Byleth!” </p><p>It was closer this time, that much she could tell. Everything still felt hazy and out of focus, everything except that frantic voice. </p><p>“Byleth!”</p><p>Suddenly there was a crash next to her, and she was no longer on the ground anymore but in someone’s arms. Then, there were deep emerald eyes staring down at her, filled with so much anguish and sorrow. The sight of them almost caused her to stop breathing. “Claude..” she rasped out, her throat making just the simple word feel like swallowing nails. </p><p>“You’re still alive— oh, thank the— you’re still here, you’re still with me...” Claude said, the relief evident in his voice. He was also injured, with tears in his clothes and blood-soaked through in places.</p><p>Her face contorted into confusion as best it could with the little energy she still possessed, “Why.. why are you here?”</p><p>The mask he usually wore had been long forgotten, so she clearly saw the hurt flash across his face. “Why am I here?! Byleth, as soon as I found out that there was still a rebellion marching toward the capital I came straight here! How could I have not shown up?”</p><p>“Fódlan.. it isn’t your responsibility anymore..” </p><p>“I hardly see how that matters! I came here to help you.” Claude insisted, “I couldn’t just let this rebellion happen so soon after the war. There was no way Fódlan could survive it.” </p><p>“So, you did come for Fódlan..” Byleth murmured, her gaze finally straying from him.</p><p>“No.. I didn’t. I might’ve also done it for someone else because this kingdom is fragile.. but I was also scared for you, By. I knew that you’d be without the troops you needed to easily win. Then, when I didn’t see you anywhere when I was flying around, I thought you were gone.” He admitted.</p><p>“I will be..” She told him, “This poison... it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” And she had seen a lot of them over the years of friendship with Claude. “It took all of my energy in just a few seconds, and the satisfied soldiers just left me to die.”</p><p>He shook his head, “No, don’t think like that. We’ll get you to Marianne and she’ll help you. She’s got to be here, right?”</p><p>“She is..but, I haven’t seen her since the battle began.” </p><p>“Then we’ll just have to find her.” Claude declared firmly, trying to leave no room for argument.</p><p>“You don’t have the strength to carry me,” Byleth said matter of factly, looking at the injuries he’d sustained just making his way over to her. “And I can’t even move to stand anymore.”</p><p>“No, no, I can! I’ll drag the both of us if I have to. I can’t lose you now, By. Not when I’ve just gotten you back!” Claude insisted desperately, his gloved hand reaching up to brush some of her hair out of her face. “Please.. don’t leave me again..”</p><p>Byleth was always known for being blunt and honest. Many soldiers and other gossips would often say she didn’t even take other’s feelings into account when she spoke. She supposed that was half true. She always thought that she gave people the hard truth, even if that’s not always what they wanted to hear. But this time... she couldn’t bring herself to tell Claude that this was the end. </p><p>She managed a small smile, “Everything will be alright. I won’t leave you.” She knew she was lying through her teeth, but it was all she could do to keep Claude from overexerting himself trying to get them both to safety. “Marianne and the others will be here soon..”</p><p>Claude looked like he wanted to argue, but he sighed and nodded slowly. “It’ll be alright..”</p><p>“Watch the sunrise with me?” Byleth offered softly, “I haven’t seen one in so long.. You promised we’d see a new dawn together, remember?”</p><p>“Never like this, though.. I didn’t want it to be this way.”</p><p>“Shh.. lay down with me and just enjoy it,” Byleth whispered.</p><p>He sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. As gently as he could he moved Byleth back down onto the grass, joining her soon after and gazing up at the sky.</p><p>“Do you remember the first time we gazed at the stars together?” She asked after he’d gotten settled.</p><p>“Of course I do.” He managed a quiet laugh at the memory, “You’d said you never thought to look up before then. It baffled me how someone could go their entire life and not notice the night sky, Teach.” </p><p>The old memories paired with that familiar nickname made Byleth’s heart feel a little warmer. “Well, I didn’t exactly have the most normal childhood.” She reminded him. </p><p>“You.. you said that you don’t remember much from before the monastery, right?” </p><p>“The memories are fuzzy. It’s not like I just woke up right before those thieves attacked you, but it feels as if that’s when my heart started paying attention.” She tried to explain.</p><p>“It makes sense, y’know..” Claude whispered softly, “Jeralt said he’d never seen you show much emotion before you became our Teach, and I’d have to agree. Before Flayn got kidnapped, you seemed almost inhuman.”</p><p>Byleth could remember the day Seteth had interrupted her meeting with the archbishop so vividly to this day. It was the first time she had felt true fear. She’d looked high and low for the little girl that she’d become unknowingly attached to, practically tearing apart the monastery in her search. </p><p>“You smiled when she was found.. that’s how I knew I could trust you, Byleth.” Claude admitted, “Before then I thought you were just some mercenary completing another job, but you showed then that you cared about people, even if they weren’t your students.”</p><p>“I didn’t feel anything until I met you.” She murmured, “It wasn’t sudden either, more like slowly over time my heart began working. The first time I’d felt true unfiltered joy when we won the battle of the eagle and lion, the contentedness I felt during the celebratory feast as I watched all the houses mingle without prejudice, it all was because of you.”</p><p>“As much as I’d love to take all the credit for it, Teach, I think the other deer and even the other houses deserve some of it.”</p><p>“Of course they do, but.. you’ve always been special to me, you know that.” Byleth sighed softly as the sun had finally begun to peek over the horizon, and she could feel the last of her strength slipping. </p><p>Claude laughed, “Yeah, you don’t have to tell me that twice. We found comfort in each other’s presence so many times.. So many late nights pouring over maps and books on strategies and battalion formations..”</p><p>“As strange as it sounds.. I miss those days..” She whispered. She had missed seeing his smile and the warmth of his embrace for so long. Now it felt as if it had never even happened, the stretch of time between their last meeting had all but broke her to the point where she could no longer look up at the night sky without remembering him. Her shooting star. There for a moment, and then gone the next. Yet, the feelings she held for him remained unchanged.</p><p>“They were simpler days, even if we were at war. Days at the monastery were full of paranoia and betrayal, but when we were at war and we were just a Duke and a general.. Those were the days. Weren’t they, Teach?”</p><p>	“I love you.” Byleth said suddenly, “And I’m glad we got to see this new dawn together as we’d promised.”</p><p>	Claude suddenly sat up, very much alarmed by her sudden declaration. “Wait, Byleth!” He exclaimed, reaching for her and pulling her into his arms again. However, this time she was limp and her eyes were shut. “Byleth, please!” He begged, tears starting to form in his eyes. “I just got back to you..” He could feel her breathing get shallower and shallower. “Please, my love.. Stay with me. I’ll never leave your side again..” </p><p>But it was too late. Byleth had returned to Sothis, greeting her old friend with a heavy heart.</p>
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